The latest on California politics and government

October 7, 2011

Jim Sanders of The Bee Capitol Bureau reported Thursday that the Assembly routinely underreports the amount of money used to run legislators' personal offices and overreports the operating costs of committees that do the brunt of the policy work in the house.

Today, Capitol Alert is publishing member-by-member estimates of how much was spent on personal staff for the first eight months of the legislative year.

The numbers are significantly larger than the per-member office expenses on the list the speaker's office made public in August. They also vary widely by lawmaker, reflecting the perks granted majority Democrats and those serving in various leadership positions.